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FedEDI^® Plus Frequently Asked Questions

Federal Reserve Financial Services is committed to providing the answers and information you need. Answers to many of our customers' most frequently asked questions can be found using the links below.

If your question is not answered by the information provided on the site, My FedDirectory^SM provides a comprehensive list of service and support contacts who can assist you.

Sign-up Questions

How do I sign up for the service?
What are the fees associated with service?
Who pays for the service?
Since the FedEDI Plus service fees are variable based upon usage, how can I predict my monthly costs?
What is a "Service Participation Point"?
What is a "Service Participation Point Manager"?
Are there different access levels for view and maintenance functions? Does the FedEDI Plus service have different levels of access?
Is a digital certificate update necessary?

General Service Questions

Where can I locate the FedEDI Plus service on the FedLine Web^® and FedLine Advantage^® access solutions?
What is the "Scheduled Reports" feature?
What is the "On Demand" feature?
How long are the "Scheduled Reports" retained in the FedEDI Plus service on the FedLine Web access solution?
What date range is accessible via the "On Demand" report feature?
Can the FedEDI Plus service be used to create reports from data files that did not flow through the FedACH^® service?
If I select "weekly" for my RDFI Quick Scan report frequency, when will the report be produced?
What report formats are available?
I am having formatting issues while printing some of the reports. Sometimes reports generated in text (txt) format have line wrap issues and will not page break in the appropriate locations. What’s wrong?
Will the reports appear to be generated by the FedACH service or by the financial institution?
What information is available in the service?
What is the difference between the Remittance Advice Summary and Remittance Advice Detail reports?
What SEC codes are examined when the data is being scanned to produce the reports?
A report is not being produced for a customer that I know was in my FedACH file; I have established the Receiver account number in the maintenance screen. What’s wrong?
How often can the FedEDI Plus service parameters be changed?
What ANSI X12 transaction sets can the FedEDI Plus service translate?
Sometimes the detail or summary remittance reports contain bad or jumbled information. What’s wrong?
Is an additional program needed to unzip (decompress) the file that contains the reports?
Can the reports be directed to my Internet banking cash management portal?
Where can I get additional technical information about the XML formatted file that is available to support loading reports into an Internet banking cash management portal?

Windows Versus Web Questions

My institution subscribes to the "information file" only to supply data to the former Windows-based FedEDI system. Will we need to continue to subscribe to the information file after converting to the FedEDI Plus service?
In addition to using the "information file" as input for the Windows-based FedEDI system, we also use the information file for other purposes such as deriving returns and NOCs from systems other than the FedLine^® access solution. Will I need to subscribe to both the "information file" and the FedEDI Plus service in the future?
Can I continue to use the Windows-based FedEDI product at the same time I use the web-based FedEDI Plus service?

Encrypted E-mail Questions

What is the encrypted e-mail feature?
Do I have to use the encrypted e-mail feature?
What is the URL of the encrypted e-mail portal?
The encrypted e-mail vendor's web site indicates that it offers a number of different solutions for receiving encrypted e-mail, including some that deliver the e-mails directly to my normal e-mail instead of the e-mail portal (achedi.com). Are all of these options allowed?
How long are e-mails retained in the encrypted e-mail portal (achedi.com) before they are deleted?
How long are un-accessed accounts (e-mail addresses) retained in the encrypted e-mail portal before they are deleted?
I am receiving error messages in my browser when I try to access the encrypted e-mail portal (achedi.com). What’s wrong?
I did not receive a notification e-mail to let me know my reports are available in the encrypted e-mail portal. What’s wrong?
I forgot the password I created to access the encrypted Internet portal. What can I do now?

Sign-up Questions

Q: How do I sign up for the service?

A: You can sign up for the FedEDI Plus service by completing the appropriate sections of the FedACH^® Participation Agreement. Go to http://FRBservices.org/fedach/ to get started.

Q: What are the fees associated with service?

A: There are no start-up, minimum or monthly fees associated with the service. Usage-based fees for encrypted e-mail and report generation apply as follows:

Each Standard "Scheduled Report" file generated is assessed a 20 cent fee
Each Standard "On Demand" report file generated is assessed a 75 cent fee
Each Premier monthly report file generated is assessed a $10 fee
Each Premier daily report file generated is assessed a 50 cent fee
Each encrypted e-mail queued per email address is assessed a 20 cent fee
Each report queued via FedLine file delivery channel is assessed a 30 cent fee

These same fees apply regardless of the size of the input data, number of pages generated, type or format of the reports selected, or number of SEC codes or transactions used to generate the report.

The receiver level reports are generated by specifying a single Receiver Account Number or multiple Receiver Account Numbers to represent a single receiver. Early each processing morning, all of the ACH transactions for the day's activity are combined by the Receiver Account Number(s) requested, and a single physical report file is generated. For example, a single report generation fee would be applied for a single physical scheduled remittance advice summary report even if the report file contains multiple transactions (received payment files and/or SEC codes) that result in multiple logical reports to be generated within the physical report file for the day. Similarly, originator level reports are generated by specifying a single Company ID or multiple Company IDs to represent an originator.

If the encrypted e-mail option were selected to deliver the reports, the encrypted e-mail fee would apply for each unique e-mail queued per e-mail address for a given ABA per day. All of the physical reports generated for a given recipient (e-mail address) are zipped together and attached to a single e-mail. Please note that each e-mail queued to a unique e-mail address generates a separate charge.

The one exception to the usage-based fee structure is the generation of the FedEDI Plus RDFI Quick Scan report. This report is "bundled" within the monthly electronic access fee and no additional report generation fees apply. Encrypted e-mail fees do apply to the RDFI Quick Scan report.

Q: Who pays for the service?

A: Fees associated with the service will appear on the Federal Reserve statement for the benefiting DFI ABA number.

Q: Since the FedEDI Plus service fees are based upon usage, how can I predict my monthly costs?

A: The Federal Reserve Banks have created a "FedEDI Plus Value Calculator" spreadsheet to model expected usage and estimate monthly fees. The spreadsheet also includes an option that estimates a profit margin for providing the service to customers. The calculator is available at FedEDI Plus Value Calculator. (XLS)

Q: What is a "Service Participation Point"?

A: The Service Participation Point is a construct in FedACH services that allows a DFI to designate an electronic connection that is associated with a Federal Reserve digital certificate to be an electronic access point for the service for one or more of a DFI's ABAs that may or may not be associated with a digital certificate. The designated electronic connection and its associated ETI or RTN may belong to the DFI or to the DFI's third party processor. The Service Participation Point is completely separate from any settlement arrangements that may be in place. Refer to Operating Circular 4 (OC4) and to the FedACH Participation Agreement for additional details.

Q: What is a "Service Participation Point Manager"?

A: The Service Participation Point Manager is a third party that owns the electronic connection that a DFI has designated to be the DFI's Service Participation Point. The Service Participation Point Manager will administer the FedEDI Plus service on behalf of the DFI. This relationship is completely separate from any settlement arrangements that may be in place. Refer to Operating Circular 4 (OC4) and to the FedACH Participation Agreement for additional details.

Q: Are there different access levels for view and maintenance functions? Does the FedEDI Plus service have different levels of access?

A: No. After the service has been activated for a particular DFI ABA, anyone with a certificate with FedACH services access for that DFI has access to all functions in the FedEDI Plus service. If a DFI has designated a Service Participation Point Manager then this manager institution has access to all functions. The DFI in this scenario has only access to view pre-generated reports and generate "On Demand" reports. For example, the DFI cannot use any of the parameter screens.

Q: Is a digital certificate update necessary?

A: Perhaps. If the certificate holder already has access to any other FedACH service functions then no certificate/token changes are required. If the certificate/token enables access to other applications, for example, Cash or Checks, but not to FedACH, then a certificate update would be necessary. Updates can be easily accomplished through the DFI's End User Authorization Contact (EUAC).

General Service Questions

Q: Where can I locate the FedEDI Plus service on the FedLine Web and FedLine Advantage access solutions?

A: The FedEDI Plus service can be located under the FedACH^® tab for both FedLine Web and FedLine Advantage access solution customers. The FedEDI Plus links are located on the left navigation column below Risk Services.

Q: What is the "Scheduled Reports" feature?

A: "Scheduled Reports" feature allows DFIs to specify parameters that allow the service to work in auto pilot mode. Example parameters include the following: ABAs, account numbers, report types, report formats and delivery options. At the end of each processing day, the service automatically reviews the day's ACH transactions, generates the requested report(s) and makes the report(s) available according to specified parameters.

Note that the service automatically scans ACH transactions housed in FedACH services for the previous processing day and generates reports only when there is a specified match. The searching for information is included in the service at no additional charge. A fee is applied only when a match is found and a report is generated. These generated reports are stored in the FedLine Web access solution for 10 processing days. This feature could potentially eliminate manual processing thereby making reports available to customers sooner.

Q: What is the "On Demand" feature?

A: The "On Demand" feature is an optional feature that can be used to generate an ad hoc / impromptu report(s). For example, this feature may be used if a customer was not identified for an automatic Scheduled Report generation. This feature may prove helpful if a customer calls to request information from a few days ago or if it is necessary to research a new customer’s historical files to determine if it is receiving EDI information.

The "On Demand" feature consumes more processing resources than the batch-oriented "Scheduled Reports" feature and is thus priced at a higher fee. The information is available to produce reports as early as the previous processing day and as far back as 60 processing days in the past.

Q: How long are the "Scheduled Reports" retained in the FedEDI Plus service on the FedLine Web access solution?

A: Scheduled reports are retained for 10 FedACH processing days. The reports can be viewed in date ranges from one to 10 processing days.

Q: What date range is accessible via the "On Demand" report feature?

A: Information as old as 60 FedACH processing days can be accessed. Reports can be generated in date ranges from one to 10 processing days. The entire 60 days of history are not initially available at sign-up. Information is populated on a daily basis starting the day after the service is activated.

Q: Can the FedEDI Plus service be used to create reports from data files that did not flow through the FedACH service?

A: No. The service is entirely Web-based at the Federal Reserve and does not offer an option to import files that did not originally flow through FedACH processing. For example, on-us and on-we items are not included.

Q: When will a weekly RDFI Quick Scan report be produced?

A: If weekly is selected, the RDFI Quick Scan report will be produced on the first processing day of the week for the information from the previous week. It will normally run on a Monday and will contain the previous week’s information. If Monday is a holiday, it will run on Tuesday.

Q: What report formats are available?

A: The following formats are available: text (TXT), print display (PDF), hypertext (HTML). The text format provides the same format as the legacy Windows-based FedEDI system. The text format has several limitations. The more modern PDF and HTML formats will likely serve DFIs and their customers better than will the text format. PDF is the recommended format.

Q: I am having formatting issues while printing some of the reports. Sometimes reports generated in text (txt) format have line wrap issues and will not page break in the appropriate locations. What’s wrong?

A: It would be best to select "PDF" formatting to print the reports. The PDF format allows much more control of printing features. The text (txt) format has very limited features that are controlled by PC based software such as Notepad and WordPad. For text-formatted reports, the following settings may help with the line wrap issue: landscape mode, 8 point Courier new font, and 0 width margins.

Q: Will the reports appear to have been generated by the FedACH service or by the financial institution?

A: None of the receiver or originator focused reports reflect any Federal Reserve Bank wording or branding. In addition, the service supports "white branding" and can be configured with two heading lines on the reports to identify the DFI. The encrypted e-mail portal screens are generic (unbranded) and do not reflect the Federal Reserve Banks or any financial institution.

Q: What information is available in the service?

A: Click here to view information about the available reports and files.

Q: What is the difference between the Remittance Advice Summary and Remittance Advice Detail reports?

A: The Remittance Advice Summary report only attempts to translate selected key information from the EDI data that most receivers find essential.

The Remittance Advice Detail report attempts to translate all EDI data. This additional information might be useful to the receiver if the limited amount of data translated in the Remittance Advice Summary report does not meet that receiver's needs.

Please note that the detail report may produce many more pages of output than does the summary report. Typically, a customer would need either the detail or summary report but not both. It is advisable to work with the receiver to determine which report best meets its needs.

Q: What SEC codes are examined when the data is being scanned to produce the remittance reports?

A: The following SEC codes are examined by default: CTX, CCD, PPD, CIE, WEB and POS. This default behavior can be easily changed to search for only selected SEC codes and transactions with or without addenda records.

Q: A report is not being produced for a customer that I know was in my FedACH file, and I have established the Receiver account number in the customer maintenance screen. What’s wrong?

A: Most likely the Receiver account number established in the FedEDI Plus service does not match the Receiver account number in the ACH transaction. To verify, examine the RDFI Quick Scan report associated with that transaction carefully and look for anomalies in the account number. The FedEDI Plus service does contain the ability to match on Receiver account number regardless of leading zeros, spaces and dashes. If there are other characters in the Receiver account number then those characters must be included in the customer maintenance screen in order for the service to be able to generate reports for that customer. Another common cause is that the list of SEC codes established in the advanced setup screen is too narrow. For example, only CTX is selected in the advanced setup screen but the transactions are CTX with addenda records (CTX+).

Q: How often can the FedEDI Plus service parameters be changed?

A: The parameters can be modified anytime the FedEDI Plus service is available. Shortly after the FedACH services end-of-day process completes early each morning, the FedEDI Plus service will generate reports and e-mails based on the parameters currently specified in the service.

Q: What ANSI X12 transaction sets can the FedEDI Plus service translate?

A: : The FedEDI Plus service can translate all ANSI X12 transaction sets and NACHA-endorsed banking conventions permitted in the ACH network. This includes the following ANSI X12 transaction sets:

820 (payment order/remittance advice)
835 (health care claim payment/advice)
813 (electronic filing of tax return data)
823 (lockbox deposit records)
521 (income or asset offset for child support)
103 (abandoned property Filings)

The FedEDI Plus service will also translate the limited EDI segments used by the Social Security Administration for payments to representative payees.

Since the STP 820 format is a subset of the full 820 specification, it is also supported by the FedEDI Plus service.

Q: Sometimes the detail or summary remittance reports contain bad or jumbled information. What’s wrong?

A: Bad or jumbled information in a detail or summary remittance report usually indicates that the financial EDI transaction was not formatted by the originator to the appropriate ANSI X12 standard. When the FedEDI Plus service encounters transactions that are not properly formatted, it translates as much as possible. When the FedEDI Plus service encounters transactions that cannot be translated, it displays the addenda information in untranslated form. If a particular receiver consistently encounters items with addenda records that are not formatted correctly, the receiver should discuss the matter with its trading partner that originated the information.

Q: Is an additional program needed to unzip (decompress) the file that contains the reports?

A: Most likely not. Most modern operating systems already include the ability to zip and unzip files. For customers with very old operating systems, an upgrade to an operating system that supports compressed (zipped) files or a third party decompression product may be necessary. For additional information see this URL http://support.microsoft.com/kb/259177

Q: Can the reports be directed to my Internet banking cash management portal?

A: Yes. A feature is available that allows the generated reports to be packaged in a XML formatted file and directed to a FedLine file delivery channel (Advantage, Command or Direct). This file can be directed to the DFI or a third party processor that can read the XML file, extract the reports and load the reports into an Internet banking cash management portal. The appropriate FedEDI Plus participation agreement is required to establish this feature.

Q: Where can I get additional technical information about the XML formatted file that is available to support loading reports into an Internet banking cash management portal?

A: Some vendors of online banking products have already incorporated this feature. Check with your vendor first. Additional technical information about the XML formatted file is available at the FedACH FedEDI Plus page on FRBservices.org.

Windows Versus Web Questions

Q: My institution subscribes to the "information extract file" only to supply data to the former Windows-based FedEDI system. Will we need to continue to subscribe to the information extract file after converting to the FedEDI Plus service?

A: If you are only using the information extract file as input to the former Windows-based FedEDI system, you will not need the information extract file for translation services using the FedEDI Plus service.

Q: In addition to using the "information extract file" as input for the Windows-based FedEDI system, we also use the information extract file for other purposes such as deriving returns and NOCs from systems other than the FedLine^® access solution. Will I need to subscribe to both the "information file" and the FedEDI Plus service in the future?

A: Yes.

Q: Can I continue to use the Windows-based FedEDI product at the same time I use the web-based FedEDI Plus service?

A: Yes. A prudent conversion approach might be to add a few customers at a time to the FedEDI Plus service, and generate reports in both systems. When the DFI and its customer are comfortable with the new process, the DFI can discontinue using the reports from the Windows-based product for that customer.

Encrypted E-mail Questions

Q: What is the encrypted e-mail feature?

A: The encrypted e-mail feature is an optional service that uses a third party encrypted e-mail service to automatically deliver reports to the DFI and/or to its customers. All report(s) for a single e-mail address, within a given ABA, that are generated during the same FedACH daily processing cycle are "zipped" together into a single e-mail attachment. This simplifies the download process so that only one file, instead of possibly multiple files, needs to be downloaded. This also speeds the download process as the size of the report(s) is significantly reduced. This feature could potentially reduce or eliminate manual processing and makes the reports available to customers sooner. Please note that each e-mail queued to a unique e-mail address generates a separate charge.

Q: Do I have to use the encrypted e-mail feature?

A: No, the encrypted e-mail feature is optional. A DFI can always choose to manually download the reports via the FedLine Web access solution. However, this feature can automate the delivery of reports directly to customers and potentially reduces or eliminates manual processing and makes the reports available to customers sooner.

Q: What is the URL of the encrypted e-mail portal?

Q: The encrypted e-mail vendor's Web site indicates that it offers a number of different solutions for receiving encrypted e-mail, including some that deliver the e-mails directly to a usual e-mail inbox instead of the e-mail portal (achedi.com). Are all of these options allowed?

A: While the vendor offers additional solutions that require the receiving recipient to purchase additional components, the additional components and solutions are not required and are not supported by the Federal Reserve Banks. Customers may choose to use the other vendor-supported solutions based on their own security assessment and business needs.

Q: How long are e-mails retained in the encrypted e-mail portal (achedi.com) before they are deleted?

A: 60 calendar days.

Q: How long are un-accessed accounts retained in the encrypted e-mail portal before they are deleted?

A: If an account is not accessed via the portal for 180 calendar days (about six months), it will be automatically deleted.

Q: I am receiving error messages in my browser when I try to access the encrypted e-mail portal (achedi.com). What’s wrong?

A: The institution may be using a system to restrict access to Internet sites. Check with a system administrator or information technology support contact to verify. The Internet site achedi.com may need to be added as a trusted site.

There are also specific browser setting requirements to access the site. This information is documented in the online help system provided by the vendor at online help . Any technical issues encountered that are not addressed in the online help should be directed to the encrypted e-mail vendor at support@zixcorp.com.

Q: I did not receive a notification e-mail to let me know my reports are available in the encrypted e-mail portal. What’s wrong?

A: It is possible that the e-mail address was entered incorrectly. Check with the person who is responsible for this setup. It is also possible that the e-mail was stopped by a firewall, spam filter, bulk e-mail filter, e-mail system or just “lost” in the Internet. Internet e-mail does not have “guaranteed delivery."

Check with an e-mail administrator or Internet Service Provider (ISP) to determine where the e-mail notices are being stopped. The e-mails are generated with a domain name of encryptedmail.achedi.com. This name may need to be added as a permitted domain to be allowed into the institution. Review the Encrypted e-mail users guide for additional guidance.

It is a best practice to log on to the encrypted e-mail portal every day to check for reports even if a notification e-mail is not received. The encrypted e-mails in the portal will not get trapped or lost.

Q: I forgot the password I created to access the encrypted Internet portal. What can I do now?

A: There are two options. The “forgot your password” link from the achedi.com Internet portal can be used. This option will e-mail the password reminder phrase established earlier. If this phrase does not help, use the “change your password” link from the achedi.com home page. This screen will start the process to establish a new password. . The portal will send an e-mail to the normal e-mail inbox that will allow activation of the new password in the portal. Note that neither the Federal Reserve nor the encrypted e-mail vendor can reset the portal password. Only the owner of the e-mail address can perform these functions.

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